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Our Verdict

The Samsung Wave II is not a huge leap forward from its predecessor. The good and bad points of the earlier handset remain. We'd like Bada to succeed, but Samsung needs to work harder if that's to happen.

For

Long battery life

Great build

Smashing screen

Good text entry

Nice web browser

Against

Understocked app store

Not enough widgets

Poor navigation software

No smart dialling

Poor linking of Twitter and Facebook contacts

The Samsung Wave II follows up an earlier device of the same name, the original Samsung Wave. The first Wave launched a new operating system on the world, Bada, and we saw it again in the Wave 723.

Sitting underneath a familiar TouchWiz user interface, Bada gives Samsung the opportunity to have its own app store.

Samsung is clearly hedging its bets, because it's also very friendly with Android as we've seen in handsets like the Galaxy S and the Google-branded Nexus S, and with Windows Phone 7 as we've seen in the Omnia 7.

There's plenty going on in terms of specifications in the Wave II. Headlining things along with a very slightly revised version of Bada is the Super Clear LCD 3.7-inch screen.

These aside we've got a 1GHz processor, Wi-Fi, HSDPA, GPS and five-megapixel camera with 720p video recording. These features give the Wave II what it takes to be classed as a smartphone, but they don't up the ante on what we had in the original Wave.

One area where the Wave II beats the original in terms of base specs is its 2GB of internal storage (as opposed to 1GB). This can be increased with a microSD card as well.

Physically this is one large handset. That 3.7-inch screen plus three under-screen buttons need a fair amount of chassis, and at 123.9 x 59.8 x 11.8mm this isn't a phone you'll slip into a skinny pocket with ease. Nor, if you're blessed with dainty hands, will you be able to reach right across the screen for one-handed prodding.

But moving on to build quality, and it's a pleasant experience, with a lot that's familiar from the original Wave. The slightly curved button panel with its eyebrow-like call and end icons remains, though the central button has changed from being a diamond to an idiosyncratic asymmetrical lozenge shape.

The side button arrangement also reminds us of the original Wave with a very familiar volume rocker on the left edge and camera and lock buttons on the right.

The top edge, with its 3.5mm headset jack and covered micro-USB port, is also unchanged from the original Wave, as are the diamond shaped camera and LED light window on the back.

There's a metal backplate, which always helps with solidity, and there's absolutely no give or creaking in the chassis at all. In short the Wave II is almost identical to the original Wave, but a mite larger thanks to that screen.

We liked the design of the original Wave and like it here too. The Wave II is minimalist, sleek and strong in the looks department. Of course that counts for nothing if it doesn't do a superb job as a smartphone.